Illustratively and as regards autoracing in lanes, the object of a race is to move a toy vehicle manually as fast as possible over the tracks by controlling the vehicle's speed, without the vehicle thereby leaving the track in unwanted manner. Conventionally the toy vehicle is fitted with an electric motor longitudinally integrated in it, as well as a drive shaft projecting from one motor end and terminating in a gear unit. A pinion is mounted at the end of the drive shaft near the gear unit. The common axle of the powered wheels runs through the gear unit and is fitted with a crown gear. Inside the gear unit, the pinion meshes with the crown gear, different numbers of pinion teeth and crown gear teeth entailing different transmission ratios.
Moreover a steered toy vehicle is known form the German patent document A1 27 22 734 where, by engaging a clutch and by means of the direction of rotation of an electric motor, the vehicle's front steering is moved into the right or left end positions in order to move the toy vehicle from one side of the lane to the other. In order to drive the toy vehicle always in the same direction even though the direction of the electric motor is alternating, a cage is pivotably mounted on a drive shaft of the electric motor and encloses both a first pinion rigidly joined to the drive shaft and a second pinion engaging the first one. Depending on the direction of rotation of the electric motor, the cage each time pivots into a particular end position, the second pinion engaging a first crown gear and a second crown gear in a first end position, the two crown gears being mounted on one axle of driven wheels. In this configuration the driven-wheels axle is always powered in the same direction independently of the direction of rotation of the electric motor.
An object of the present invention is to improve to such an extent a toy vehicle of the above kind that even more realistic behavior of driving and steering shall be attained from the speed control means.